"While some female employees felt like the new office space promoted equality, others had the opposite reaction. The researchers found that many women became hyper-aware of being constantly watched and their appearance constantly evaluated; multiple women told them that “there isn’t anywhere that you don’t feel watched.” Of the men Hirst interviewed, there was no evidence they felt similarly or changed their actions as a result of the lack of privacy...
Some women would avoid visiting parts of the office where they weren’t expected: “You just don’t, do you? Right, this is going to sound extremely sexist but remember I do work with a lot of men,” a woman named Wendy told the researchers. “If you were a female, that would definitely get a comment from all the men because they would notice you.” For Wendy, the design of the office, despite the architects’ intention of promoting freedom of movement, actually inhibited it...
Fascinatingly, the study did not start out as an examination of gender specifically–it was meant as an examination of how workplace culture shifts when office design changes radically. It was only when Hirst, who conducted interviews on-site and spent a lot of time observing the workplace, began to feel pressure to dress in a more feminine way herself that she began to wonder about it."
https://www.fastcodesign.com/90170941/the-subtle-sexism-of-your-open-plan-office
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